General Blood Cancers

Approximately every 3 minutes one person in the United States (US) is diagnosed with a blood cancer.

An estimated combined total of 174,250 people in the US are expected to be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma in 2018.

New cases of leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma are expected to account for 10 percent of the estimated 1,735,350 new cancer cases diagnosed in the US in 2018.

Prevalence

Prevalence is the estimated number of people alive on a certain date in a population who previously had a diagnosis of the disease. An estimated 1,345,123 people in the US are either living with, or are in remission from, leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma.

Survival

Relative survival compares the survival rate of a person diagnosed with a disease to that of a person without the disease. The most recent survival data available may not fully represent the outcomes of all current therapies and, as a result, may underestimate survival to a small degree.

Deaths

Approximately every 9 minutes, someone in the US dies from a blood cancer. This statistic represents approximately160 people each day or more than 6 people every hour.

Leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma are expected to cause the deaths of an estimated 58,100 people in the US in 2018.

These diseases are expected to account for 9.5 percent of the deaths from cancer in 2018, based on the estimated total of 609,640 cancer deaths.

Leukemia

New Cases

In 2018, 60,300 people are expected to be diagnosed with leukemia.

Prevalence

There are an estimated 381,774 people living with or in remission from leukemia in the US.

Survival

The overall five-year relative survival rate for leukemia has more than quadrupled since 1960. From 1960 to 1963, the five-year relative survival rate among whites (only data available) with leukemia was 14 percent. From 1975 to 1977, the five-year relative survival rate for the total population with leukemia was 34.1 percent, and from 2007 to 2013, the overall relative survival rate was 63.7 percent.

From 2007 to 2013, the five-year relative survival rates overall were

CML - 68.0 percent*

CLL - 86.2 percent

AML - 27.4 percent overall and 66.4 percent for children and adolescents younger than 15 years

ALL - 71.0 percent overall, 91.8 percent for children and adolescents younger than 15 years, and 94 percent for children younger than 5 years.

Deaths

In 2018, 24,370 people are expected to die from leukemia (14,270 males and 10,100 females).

In 2010 to 2014, leukemia was the sixth most common cause of cancer deaths in both men and women.

*The survival rate of CML in clinical trials is higher than the survival rate reported here, based on SEER data. It is speculated that close clinical monitoring
and better medication adherence in clinical trials are associated with a lower risk of disease progression and higher rates of survival.

Hodgkin (HL) and Non-Hodgkin (NHL) Lymphoma

New Cases

In 2018, there are expected to be 83,180 new cases of lymphoma diagnosed in the US (8,500 cases of HL, 74,680 cases of NHL).

Prevalence

There are an estimated 845,076 people living with, or in remission from, lymphoma in the US.

There are 191,423 people living with or in remission from Hodgkin lymphoma

There are 653,653 people living with or in remission from non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Survival

The 5-year relative survival rate for people with HL has more than doubled, from 40 percent in whites from 1960 to 1963 (only data available) to 88.3 percent for all races from 2007 to 2013. The five-year relative survival rate is 94 percent for people with HL who were younger than 45 years old at diagnosis.

HL is now considered to be one of the most curable forms of cancer.

The 5-year relative survival rate for people with NHL has risen from 31 percent in whites from 1960 to 1963 (only data available) to 73.3 percent for all races from 2007 to 2013.

Deaths

In 2018, an estimated 20,960 members of the US population are expected to die from lymphoma (19,910 NHL and 1,050 HL).

Myeloma

New Cases

An estimated 30,770 new cases of myeloma (16,400 males and 14,370 females) are expected to be diagnosed in the US in 2018.

Prevalence

An estimated 118,273 people in the US are living with or in remission from myeloma.

Survival

Five-year relative survival has increased from 12 percent in 1960-1963 among whites (only data available) to 51 percent from 2007 to 2013 (for all races and ethnicities).

The 3-year survival rate as of January 1, 2014 is 64.7 percent (for all races and ethnicities).

Deaths

Approximately 12,770 deaths from myeloma are anticipated in 2018.

Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)

New Cases

For the 5-year period from 2010 to 2014, there were approximately 71,373 new cases of MDS throughout the US, averaging an estimated 14,275 cases per year.

Approximately 41,174 cases were diagnosed in males (averaging 8,235 per year) and approximately 30,199 cases were diagnosed in females (averaging 6,040 per year).

Prevalence

The SEER program only recently began maintaining statistics for MDS. Prevalence statistics were not reported by SEER for MDS in 2018 at the time of this publication.

Survival

The SEER program only recently began maintaining statistics for MDS. Survival statistics were not reported by SEER for MDS in 2018 at the time of this publication.

Deaths

The SEER program only recently began maintaining statistics for MDS. Mortality statistics were not reported by SEER for MDS in 2018 at the time of this publication.

Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

New Cases

For the 5-year period from 2010 to 2014, there were approximately 46,020 new cases of MPNs throughout the US, averaging an estimated 9,204 cases per year.

Approximately 22,730 cases were diagnosed in males (averaging 4,546 per year) and approximately 23,290 cases were diagnosed in females (averaging 4,658 per year).

Prevalence

The SEER program only recently began maintaining statistics for MPNs. Prevalence statistics were not reported by SEER for MPNs in 2018 at the time of this publication.

Survival

The SEER program only recently began maintaining statistics for MPNs. Survival statistics were not reported by SEER for MPNs in 2018 at the time of this publication.

Deaths

The SEER program only recently began maintaining statistics for MPNs. Mortality statistics were not reported by SEER for MPNs in 2018 at the time of this publication.

Sources:

Facts 2017-2018. The incidence rates, prevalence and mortality data in Facts 2017-2018 reflect the statistics from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program, Cancer Statistics Review (CSR) 1975-2014. National incidence counts are generated from the United States Cancer Statistics (USCS) Public Use Database for 2001-2014. Incidence rates, by state, are provided by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, Cancer in North America: 2010-2014. Estimated numbers of new blood cancer cases and estimated numbers of deaths due to blood cancers are provided by the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts and Figures 2018.

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The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services.

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